Open House
"Open House" is the third episode from the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the thirty-sixth episode altogether. Teaser Walter White arrives at the superlab and hears the whirring sound of a surveillance camera tracking his every move: Gustavo Fring is watching him. Furious, he flips the bird to the camera. Summary Skyler White, frustrated because Walt won't return her calls, visits his condo to discuss the car wash; Walt growls that he's facing far more pressing matters. Noticing the bruise on Walt's face from Mike Ehrmantraut's beating, Skyler tells Walt to go to the police, admit his crimes and tell them he fears for his life. That's the last thing Walt wants to do. He got into a minor disagreement with a colleague over a business strategy, Walt replies, but the issue is resolved. Case closed: no police for Walt. Period. Marie Schrader attends a residential open house, posing as a recently divorced woman with a gifted son that she wants to home school, apparently up to something. Hank Schrader is watching softcore porn when Marie comes home. He quickly shuts off the television while Marie unpacks her shopping, along with a figurine she stole from the open house — is her old kleptomania problem on its way back? At the lab, Walt grumbles about the surveillance camera to Jesse Pinkman, who shrugs it off. Doesn't seem like that big a deal to him. He asks if Walt would like to race go-karts with him after work. Walt, confused and disinterested, asks Jesse how he's doing. Without answering, Jesse points to Walt's bruised eye and asks Walt the same. At the condo with Walt and Skyler, Saul Goodman touts the Zen Nail Spa as the best way to launder money. "Ya bombed. It happens," Saul says about Skyler's attempt to purchase the car wash. Bogdan Wolynetz just needs an "attitude adjustment," contends Skyler, though she rules out instigating an IRS audit, INS raid or any violence. Walt thinks the car wash is a bad idea. That is, until Skyler mentions Bogdan's affronts to Walt's manhood. Now, Walt's on board and insists they buy the business. Marie visits another open house and admires the owner's collection of spoons, describing herself to the agent as the childless wife of a retired astronaut. After the open house, the agent notices the spoon Marie remarked about is missing. That evening, Jesse races go-karts alone, screaming as he takes a curve. He arrives home to a meth party that's spiraling out of control, with people brawling, screwing and vandalizing the house. Jesse sits down, lights a cigarette, and impassively watches the chaos. Marie attends another open house, this time presenting herself to its owners as the globetrotting wife of an illustrator, but she exits swiftly after the agent from the previous house recognizes her. Outside, the agent accuses her of stealing and they tussle over Marie's purse. It falls to the ground, revealing a picture frame Marie lifted from inside. Hank, in bed, takes a phone call from Marie, from the police station. "Are you seriously doing this to me again?" Hank snarls, instructing her to sit tight while he makes a call. At the police station, Hank's colleague Sgt. Tim Roberts tells Marie that the homeowners are not pressing charges. When he asks if she wants to go home, Marie starts sobbing, unable to speak. While surrounded by the suds from Holly's baby bottles, Skyler is struck by an idea and calls Saul. Outside the car wash, a man wearing a Bluetooth headset who appears to be some kind of environmental inspector shows water samples to Bogdan and declares they're full of contaminants. Bogdan must replace his entire wastewater treatment system, and the state requires he cease operations until it's back up to code, the inspector-type says. Then we see that Skyler is feeding him lines via her cell phone — this is her big idea, but it's not clear if the very frustrated Bogdan is biting. Tim visits Hank to solicit his help — as "a pal I just did a favor for" — in solving the Gale Boetticher homicide. Showing Hank a copy of Gale's lab notebook, Tim speculates that it "pertains to some kind of methamphetamine superlab." Hank dismisses Tim's overture as "some sort of a charity thing," but halfheartedly agrees to review the notebook. He dismissively sets it on a pile of his minerals. At Skyler's house, after the phony environmental inspection, Walt and Skyler wait on word from Bogdan. Walt believes the scheme has failed, but Skyler refuses to concede. The phone rings — it's Bogdan calling with an offer to sell the car wash for $879,000. Skyler reduces her offer to $800,000, ignoring Walt's protests and hanging up when Bogdan balks. A few moments later, Bogdan calls back, and Skyler smiles: success! In his living room, Jesse balls up fifty-dollar bills and tosses them at the open mouth of a pants-less party guest passed out on the floor. "Yeah, bitch!" exclaims Jesse when he finally makes a shot, but no one reacts. Trying to breathe some life into the very unsavory and lethargic crowd, Jesse tosses his remaining cash into the air and watches his guests scramble after it. In a nearby car, Victor's replacement, Tyrus Kitt, watches Jesse's house, keeping tabs on his decline. At the White house, Walt toasts Skyler's unexpected success with a $320 bottle of champagne, which bothers Skyler. How does it look for an unemployed school teacher to make such a purchase? Walt accuses her of overreacting. "One slip-up in our story — that could ruin us," she argues. Walt, it seems, is unable to enjoy any part of his ill-gotten gains. Late at night, Hank watches television. Bored, anxious, and sleepless, he reaches for Gale's lab notebook and begins reading. Credits Main Cast *Bryan Cranston as Walter White *Anna Gunn as Skyler White *Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman *Dean Norris as Hank Schrader *Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader *Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman *Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut Supporting Cast *Nigel Gibbs as Sgt. Tim Roberts *Jennifer Hasty as Stephanie Doswell *Bill Burr as Kuby *Jeremy Howard as Sketchy *Marius Stan as Bogdan Wolynetz *Lavell Crawford as Huell *Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt *Ralph Alderman as First Realtor *Delana Michaels as Female Homeowner *Jonathan Richards as Male Homwowner *Stephen Braddock as Partygoer Trivia *The footage shown from the first-person perspective of Gus' camera is actual footage from the real camera. Featured Music *'"Spasm"' by Dave's True Story *'"If I Had A Heart"' by Fever Ray es:Open House Category:Breaking Bad episodes Category:Season 4 episodes